Brazil orders X to ‘Immediately’ block Grok sexualized deepfakes

Brazilian authorities have ordered Elon Musk’s social media platform X to immediately stop its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, from generating s3xually explicit images, intensifying global scrutiny of the tool.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday, Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency (ANPD), the National Consumer Rights Bureau (Senacon), and the Federal Prosecution Service directed X to “immediately implement appropriate measures to prevent the production, using Grok, of sexualized or eroticized content of children and adolescents, as well as adults who have not given their consent.”

The agencies gave the company five days to comply or face possible legal action and financial penalties.

The move follows mounting international concern over Grok’s ability to generate sexualized deepfake images through simple text prompts. Indonesia blocked the chatbot entirely last month, while authorities in Britain and France have said they will continue to pressure X and its AI company, xAI, to address the issue.

Brazilian regulators said X had previously claimed it deleted thousands of posts and suspended hundreds of accounts after receiving an earlier warning. However, officials said follow-up checks showed users were still able to create sexualized deepfakes using Grok.

They criticized the company for what they described as a lack of transparency in its response.

On January 15, X announced new safeguards intended to prevent Grok from digitally altering images of real people in jurisdictions where such actions are illegal. It remains unclear in which countries those restrictions have been fully implemented.

Pressure has mounted on xAI since Grok’s “Spicy Mode” feature enabled users to generate explicit, AI-manipulated images of women and children using prompts such as requests to remove clothing or alter attire.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has estimated that Grok produced millions of sexualized images within days of the feature’s release, further fueling calls for stricter oversight and enforcement.